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PECOS, Aug. 23, 1996 - Reeves County Commissioners met behind closed
doors late this morning to discuss setting a salary for County
Court-at-Law Judge Lee Green.
Commissioners began their meeting at 11 a.m. and were to open the doors
to the public and take public comments at about 1 p.m.
Green won a lawsuit against the county following a dispute about his
salary which began last year.
In adopting the 1996 budget, commissioners had cut Green's salary from
$53,000 to zero, claiming that the court-at-law could be handled by the
county judge. Commissioners tried earlier in 1995 to abolish the
position completely, but public protests led State Rep. Gary Walker
(R-Plains) to refuse to bring up the measure before the Texas
Legislature.
At that time, commissioners said cases handled by Green would be divided
between Reeves County Judge Jimmy Galindo and 143rd District Court Judge
Bob Parks, since Galindo does not hold the law degree needed to rule in
certain court-at-law cases.
After Green filed his lawsuit late last year, commissioners set the
court-at-law judge's salary at just over $32,558, the same amount as
Galindo's pay. However, Green refused to accept his paycheck and opted
to take the matter to court.
A Reeves County jury ruled this past April that Green's salary should be
set at a reasonable amount. The matter has been on the county's agenda
several times in the past few months.
Galindo has stated that if Green's salary was to be reinstated it would
call for a tax increase.
Green stated early this morning that he would not be attending the open
session of the special meeting.
Today's meeting was the first of two scheduled over the next four days
by commissioners, who will hold their regular court session on Monday,
beginning at 9:45 a.m.
At that time commissioners will discuss approving personnel and salary
changes in the sheriff's office, Reeves County Detention Center, Justice
of the Peace Precinct 1, the county judge's office and the Juvenile
Detention Center.
The court will award bids for locks and deadbolts and surface mounted
keepers for the Reeves County Detention Center and discuss a GTE
Centranet Service proposal.
The court is also scheduled to approve official bond and oath of Beverly
Gallego, for the Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 office.
They will discuss taking action on reclassification of Reeves County
Detention Center Food Service position.
Reports from various departments will be discussed, budget amendments
and line-item transfers made, minutes from previous meetings will be
discuss and the court will approve and pay semi-monthly bills.
From Staff and Wire Reports
EDEN, Aug. 23, 1996 - Operators of the privately run Eden Detention
Center believe they have removed the core of federal inmates who sparked
a 12-hour uprising that ended Thursday morning with the surrender of
about 400 sun-weary prisoners.
Buses picked up more than 120 perceived troublemakers from the detention
center and were transferring them to Bell County Jail in Belton, said
Bell County Sheriff Dan Smith.
Reeves County Detention Center Warden Joe Trujillo said this morning
that although no Eden inmates were reassigned to his facility, he did,
"provide transportation for them. We sent three buses down there."
He added that guards for the local facility were on standby, "and ready
to deploy," in case further assistance was needed.
There are currently 608 U.S. Bureau of Prison inmates at the RCDC. The
Eden Center held about 950 inmates at the time of Wednesday's riot
Bell County, which has been leasing jail bed space to the Bureau of
Prisons for several years, will have about 240 federal inmates after the
transfers.
Fourteen prisoners and three guards were hurt during the incident. Two
inmates remained hospitalized Thursday after surgery to remove buckshot
from pellet-filled shotguns fired by private guards. The other inmate
injuries involved cuts and bruises.
One guard suffered a broken jaw when he was struck by a rock thrown by
an inmate, officials said. Two others sought assistance for heat
exhaustion.
The federal prison bureau will send an ``after-action team'' no later
than early next week to investigate, spokesman Dan Dunne said.
He added that the bureau regularly evaluates privately run units,
although he told The Associated Press that the reports are available
only through a formal written request.
Both the prison and the bureau said the scrutiny was normal protocol.
The incident was the second this month in Texas involving a unit owned
by the Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corp. of America. Two Oregon
convicted sex offenders beat a guard and escaped from the company's
north Houston prison two weeks ago. Community outrage forced the removal
of about 80 other Oregon sex offenders.
Two violent incidents in two weeks ``is very atypical,'' CCA spokeswoman
Susan Hart said. ``We've got 20,000 other inmates and prisoners around
the country where things are normal and quiet.''
But state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, said the latest incident at a
CCA facility points again to the need for close state oversight.
``There's no question that I will introduce legislation to more tightly
regulate and oversee private facilities,'' said Whitmire, chairman of
the Senate's Criminal Justice Committee.
Officials first said inmates were upset about their food selection,
clothing and lack of access to crafts. However, Ms. Hart said Thursday
the inmates' motives were unclear.
``We don't have anything clearly defined as why they did what they
did,'' she said. Because they didn't make any specific demands, it
``adds to the lack of clarity as to their rationale.''
Inmates began what amounted to a sit-down protest among the handball
courts and basketball goals of the recreation yard around 11:30 a.m. CDT
Wednesday. Tensions slowly escalated as the inmates, easily viewed
through the chain-link fences by neighbors watching from lawn chairs in
their yards, began to cause damage and grow rowdy.
The prison called authorities for assistance and requested help from its
own SWAT teams at other Texas units. Pepper gas and buckshot were used
to quell the riot. The number of armed officers on both sides of the
fence swelled to approximately 350 by the time the inmates gave in.
CCA operates the prison on contract with the city of Eden, which in turn
has a contract with the prison bureau. The low-security facility holds
pending deportees with 36 months or less remaining on their sentences
for crimes ranging from immigration violations to drug convictions.
Texas is a major part of CCA's international system of private jails. It
derived nearly a quarter of its 1995 income from operating a dozen
local, state and federal units in Texas, according to the company's
annual report.
The prison is the largest employer in Eden, a farming town of fewer than
2,000 residents that is the largest city in sparsely populated Concho
County. Eden is about 40 miles southeast of San Angelo.
The prison's ties to the town are so close that inmates field a team in
the community softball league, with all its games played at home. The
prison's upcoming game reportedly has been scrapped.
Copyright 1996 Pecos Enterprise. All rights reserved. AP contributed to
this report.
State law provides that a probated sentence be imposed for the first
conviction on a state jail felony, said District Attorney John Stickels,
who composed the order.
Judge Parks accepted the jury verdict rendered Tuesday in the case. The
jury found Miller guilty of tampering with a witness and assessed the
180-day state jail sentence, the minimum allowed under the law.
It was one of several sentences handed down by Parks this morning.
Adan Martinez Salcido was sentenced to one year in state jail, a $500
fine and $140 restitution to the Department of Public Safety on his
original conviction for drug possession.
That sentence had been suspended in favor of probation, which Salcido
violated.
Moses Carrasco Arenivas pleaded not guilty to drug delivery.
Stickels said he has received pen packets showing two prior felony
convictions for Arenivas, and will present that information to the
Reeves County grand jury. Two prior convictions makes the offense a
second-degree felony, he said
Four arraignments for aggravated assault by former Reeves County Law
Enforcement Center inmates were reset for Aug. 30. Judge Parks said
federal authorities asked for a writ instead of a bench warrant to
release the inmates to state custody.
The four, Alejandor Martinez-Baez, Daniel Medrano-Encinas, Jose
Osuna-Cuevas and Rodrigo Mojarez-Galindo, are charged with assaulting
guards at the LEC during a riot on Feb. 28.
Judge Parks appointed attorneys for Sergio Saenz and Robert Lujan Jr. on
a burglary of a build charge and for Herman Campos on a motion to revoke
his probation.
Hilda Woods testified for the Reeves County Sheriff's Office on the
status of all cases listed as having outstanding warrants.
She said that 23 of the warrants have been entered in both the state and
national computer systems that track criminals, and that no other
efforts have been made to locate the suspects.
Another dozen have either been arrested, are in custody in another
venue, or efforts to locate them have been unsuccessful, Woods said.
A number of major Tejano stars will be making appearances at the Buck
Jackson Rodeo Arena.
Emilio, the popular Tejano star who has made a crossover into country
music will be headlining the seven-hour event. Joining him will be
Stephanie Lynn, newcomer into the public eye, Bobby Pulido and conjunto
band, Los Jinetas.
Pecos natives The Roman Brothers will be joining that lineup to make the
evening a success.
"We're hoping to get a big crowd, with Emilio being so popular," said
Chamber of Commerce Secretary Karen Capers.
She added that the chamber has been working diligently to make the
concert a success, along with the Fall Fair which will be held in
conjunction with it. The concert and World's Championship Barbeque Beef
Cookoff will be the weekend of Oct. 4-5, with other fair events
scheduled for Oct. 9-14.
Advance tickets for the concert will be going on sale on Sept. 1. Local
businesses that will be selling advance tickets include Dan's Music and
Video, Lucky Partners, Socorro's Cocina Mexicana, Airlawn Furniture and
the Pecos Chamber of Commerce.
Advance tickets will be $15, while tickets sold at the door Oct. 5 will
be $18.
Chamber officials are urging everyone to come join the fun.
Pando testified during a hearing in which he asked District Judge Bob
Parks to reduce bail from $500,000 to $5,000 or personal recognizance on
a felony charge of possession of cocaine.
Judge Parks set bail at $40,000 surety at the end of this morning's
hearing in 143rd District Court.
Kelly Davis, investigator for the Pecos Police Department, testified
that he and Patrolman Billy Hull arrested Pando Aug. 14 on several
traffic violations.
The cocaine possession charge was added after officers found more than
one gram of cocaine in the clothing of Pando's wife, Guadalupe, said
Paul Deishler, narcotics investigator for the police department.
Davis said that as he and Hull attempted to stop Pando's vehicle on the
traffic violations, he could see Pando's right shoulder and arm extended
toward his wife, a passenger in the car.
He said that when he ran up to Pando's car, Mrs. Pando was holding up
her blouse front with the left hand and her right hand was underneath
the blouse.
Matrons searching Mrs. Pando at Reeves County Jail found cocaine in the
front part of her pants, Deishler said.
She has been released on bail on a cocaine possession charge. District
Attorney John Stickels has filed notice of seizure and intent to forfeit
Pando's 1985 Mercury on grounds it was being used in connection with a
felony drug violation.
Pando testified that the car is the only possession he owns that he
could sell to post bail. His family is trying to get funds together to
help him out, he said.
Stickels opposed lowering the bail, based on Pando's Mexican
citizenship, his current probation in Presidio County on a marijuana
possession conviction, which could be revoked; and the fact that Pando's
father, Hector Brito Pando, has eluded law enforcement officers seeking
to arrest him on a motion to revoke his probation on a previous drug
conviction.
Under questioning by his attorney, Mario Gonzales of El Paso, Pando
testified he has no close ties to Mexico, although he may have distant
relatives there, and he doesn't know where his father is. He said his
mother lives here, as does his wife.
Stickels said that the fact his probation in Presidio County could be
revoked and he would be sent to prison for 10 years is enough to make
Pando flee to Mexico.
Pecos residents noticed the first drops as they headed for work at 8
a.m., and the welcome rains continued through the morning. Forecasters
were predicting three days of rain.
Hurricane Dolly today hit Mexico for a second time, flooding towns
along the Gulf Coast and forcing people to flee their homes hauling
mattresses, bedding and plastic-wrapped televisions.
``Look what has happened to our houses. It's very ugly,'' said Francisca
Jerez Garcia, who sought shelter with her children at a grade school in
Tampico, Mex.
The hurricane struck land about 8:45 a.m. just south of that port city,
Tamaulipas state officials said.
``Yes there is damage. Yes there are evacuees. As to how many, we are
still receiving information,'' said Gilberto Garcia, sub-director of
civil defense for the border state.
Cars crept through hubcap-deep water past darkened stop lights this
morning. There had been power outages in some areas and the winds had
downed some street lights and tree limbs.
Residents of a poor, fishing neighborhood along the Rio Tameisi carried
belongings from their shanty-type houses, trudging through muddy streets
to reach shelter.
Most businesses were closed with plywood or steel grating over their
windows. But buses were running and some grocery stores and gasoline
stations had opened.
Dolly reached sustained winds of 80 mph before hitting land. The U.S.
National Hurricane Center in Miami said that by 10 a.m. (11 a.m. EDT),
it was down to 75 mph and starting to weaken as it moved inland roughly
25 miles southwest of here.
To the east, Tropical Storm Edouard approached hurricane strength today
as it cruised over the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean, but remained
about 1,500 miles east of the Lesser Antilles.
Dolly prompted hurricane warnings along Mexico's northeastern coast from
La Pesca, 155 miles from the Texas border, south to Veracruz. The storm
was not expected to reach as far north as Texas.
Up to a foot of rain was expected along coastal areas in the Mexican
states of Veracruz and Tamaulipas, where flash flooding and mudslides
were possible.
On Thursday, authorities evacuated 6,500 people in low-lying areas of
Tampico as a precaution, a Red Cross official said. The port, boxed in
by the Gulf to the east and lagoons to the west, is prone to flooding.
Tampico's port was one of 37 along the Gulf closed because of high wind
and waves. More than 450,000 people live in Tampico and neighboring
Ciudad Madero.
Dolly briefly reached hurricane force of 74 mph when it first hit Mexico
on Tuesday. Its journey across the Yucatan Peninsula knocked the wind
back to about 35 mph a day later.
It regained strength in the Gulf for a second strike at Mexico -
Hurricanes tend to disintegrate when they reach land and strengthen when
over warm water.
There have been no confirmed deaths, but there were reports of two
fishermen missing in the Yucatan state of Quintana Roo. Officials said
the storm destroyed 16 houses and damaged 26 others.
Petroleos Mexicanos, the state-owned oil company, on Thursday reopened
one of the three major Gulf Coast oil-supply terminals it had closed
Tuesday because of the storm.
Forecasters said they doubted the storm would swing north toward
drought-parched Texas. But Texans weren't taking any chances.
``We're ready and waiting,'' said Manuel Gomez Jr., executive director
of the west Cameron County chapter of the Red Cross.
County officials bought satellite telephones and portable generators,
and released 55 prisoners because of fears the new jail wouldn't hold up
in a storm.
Drought-breaker or not, Dolly's rain was a welcome sight for farmers in
Texas' Rio Grande valley.
``It's a good start,'' said Wayne Labar, a cotton and grain producer.
``It's going to be beneficial for the whole valley.''
Copyright 1996 Pecos Enterprise. All rights reserved. AP contributed to
this report.
Graveside services for Leonard "Bo" Worsham, 83, will be at 10 a.m.
Saturday in Mount Evergreen Cemetery. He died Wednesday, Aug. 21, 1996,
in Midland Memorial Hospital.
Worsham was born in Timpson on July 24, 1913 and had lived in Pecos
since 1947, where he engaged in farming, ranching and crop dusting. He
was a Baptist and member of the National Guard.
Survivors include his wife, Laura L. Worsham of Pecos; one son, James
Worsham of Pecos; one daughter Linda Chaddick of Houston; two sisters,
Louise Haden of Cleveland, Ohio, and Helen Miburn, of Houston; eight
grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a son, Robert Glenn Worsham.
The family requests that memorials be made to the American Heart
Association or to a favorite charity.
Services are incomplete for Magdalena Martinez, 92, who died Thursday in
an Odessa Nursing Home.
Martinez Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
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Copyright 1996 by Pecos Enterprise
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